Everything Is Not What It Seems
by Bloomrini
Summary: Aamaya, a normal college student, gets thrown into the Marauder's era, 2 months before the dreaded Halloween! How did she get here? Why was she sent here? Is she even who she thought she was? And what's going to happen now? Join her in a ride which will change the course of history, as she discovers her true origins & tries to save her friends & the wizarding world. Completely AU.
1. Chapter 1

**Huge thanks to my invaluable beta CallMeBunny.**

 **Disclaimer: If you think that I own Harry Potter, well then you need to get your head examined by a doctor!**

Year 2015.

Somewhere in India. In a room in a girls' hostel for undergraduate students.

"Shit!" she woke up suddenly. "Rhea, what's the time?" she asked her roomie.

"9:30." Rhea replied.

"9:30 pm! We missed dinner! Oh no!" she fell back on the bed.

"Sorry, Aamaya! I thought you didn't want to have dinner so I didn't wake you." Rhea said.

"Hmmm, its fine. Not your fault. Honestly I didn't expect I would sleep for so long. I should stop taking afternoon naps." She replied. 'More like evening nap.' she muttered to herself.

"When did you fall asleep?" Rhea asked.

"Around 5:30, I guess."

"So late! And what were you doing before that?" her roomie asked.

"Reading Harry Potter of course!" Aamaya replied matter-of-factly.

Rhea just rolled her eyes.

"You and your Harry Potter obsession!" she said.

"Wrong! Me and my Remus Lupin obsession!" she laughed and corrected her.

"Go and order something fast, before the gates close, if you want to eat something." Rhea said.

"Hmm I think I'll go down and get something from Snack Point. You coming?" Aamaya asked.

"Nah, not hungry."

"Okay, then." she said and left the room.

When she went out of her hostel, Aamaya saw the roads quite empty. It was not surprising as it was a Saturday night and most of the students were outside the campus, enjoying the first Saturday of the new term. She made her way to the food joint and placed her order.

She absentmindedly fingered her locket while waiting for her order; a locket which she had been wearing since forever. For being so lenient regarding their religious views, her parents were quite strict when it came down to the locket. She was never supposed to take it off, not until her parents told her that it was fine to take it off. Apparently her life was in danger and some religious Guru had charmed it to protect her. She just shook her head and rolled her eyes. 'Seriously, how could you believe such nonsense, mum! You never believed in the other stuff that they say!' She thought to herself.

"Order 51!" someone shouted from inside the store. She took her order and left the place.

While on her way back, it started raining heavily. Seeing that there was nothing underneath which she could take shelter, she started running. She could just see her hostel block when she slipped on the slippery pavement and fell down, hitting her head. She tried to get up and that's when she saw that her locket had broken and it was emitting a strange light. In that instant, a flash of lightening suddenly lit up the entire place like morning and then flung the place into pitch darkness.

In the darkness only the packet of food remained on the pavement with no sign of the girl that had been there a minute ago.

The only unusual thing was the woman hiding behind a nearby tree. As soon as she saw the empty pavement she smiled and placed her wand back inside her pocket.


	2. Chapter 2

**Beta'd by: CallMeBunny**

 **Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter. Not making any money at all out of this! Title taken from the title song of 'Wizards Of Waverly Place.'**

 **Reviews: Yes pleeeeeeeeeeease...**

Year 1981.

Godric's Hollow.

It had been a tiring month for one Remus John Lupin. Going undercover with werewolf packs and acting as if you had nothing to do with wizards was not a joke. Surviving each day was a huge challenge and trying to hide his duties from his best friends was an even bigger challenge! The friends who had spent their entire lives hiding something or the other, whether it be harmless pranks from their professors, Remus' secret from the entire school, or their Order business from the entire world.

But he decided he wouldn't think of such dark thoughts. Tonight he was just going to have fun with his best friends. Thinking this, he knocked on the door.

A woman with flaming red hair opened it. "Remus!" she exclaimed happily and gave him a tight hug. "Glad that you could make it!" she said.

Lily Potter ushered him inside and called out to her husband. "James! Look who's here!"

James Potter was sitting on the sofa with his one year old son on his lap. As soon as he saw his friend, he handed his son to Peter Pettigrew, who was sitting right beside him, and jumped to give him a hug.

"Moony! How are you? And where ever have you been for all this time?" he asked Remus.

Remus couldn't stop grinning at the sight of his old friends and replied, "I'm fine. Sorry, couldn't come earlier; was a bit busy."

He picked up Harry from Peter's lap and missed the worried look that James and Peter gave each other. James couldn't help thinking about the conversation that he had had with Sirius the previous week. Sirius was becoming suspicious of Remus and Peter supported his thoughts. They thought his actions strange and his lack of information didn't help matters at all. But he shook his head resolutely and decided not to let such silly doubts ruin their friendship. They weren't just friends, they were brothers, and you don't doubt your own brothers.

He joined Remus and Peter on the sofa and they all started to reminisce about their school days. Lily, half hidden by the curtains, smiled a little as she saw her husband so animated after such a long time. Being trapped in their own house was not good for anyone and she was glad that finally, they were having some happy moments. But she couldn't help worrying about Remus. He was becoming more and more distant from them, but she could see that it took a lot of effort for him to stay away. She decided to have a talk with him later.

After dinner, James and Peter went to the living room with Harry to play with his toy broomstick while Remus stayed behind to help Lily in cleaning the dishes.

"Dinner was excellent, Lily," Remus said with a smile.

Lily smiled and said, "Thank you Remus for helping with the dishes. I would have asked James but he has already been helping a lot with the daily chores. After all, housework is the only thing that can be done inside this house anymore." she said with a glum smile.

Remus sighed and said, "Everything will be alright soon Lily. The entire Order is working hard. You'll soon be out of this house."

"But I can't help worrying Remus! I worry about Harry and what would happen to him if we aren't successful, I worry about James who is becoming crazy stuck in his own house, I worry about Sirius who is becoming more and more moody due to the pressure, I worry about Peter who is becoming emotionally detached from us and I worry about you Remus, you have become so secretive! You hardly say a word to us about your missions and disappear for months on end!" she took deep breaths to control herself. The tension had been eating her up from the inside and with no one to talk to except James, there was no way she could let out her feelings. She had to be strong for the sake of her family.

"Lily," Remus started.

"Tell me Remus, where have you been?" Lily cut him. "Why don't you come to meet us anymore? Why don't you reply to any of our letters?"

Remus just hung his head. "I can't Lily, its' Order business," he started.

"You might have forgotten, Remus Lupin, but I am in the Order as well!" She shouted.

Remus started getting a bit nervous. An angry Lily was not something he wanted to face alone. But he couldn't just tell her about the packs.

"Tell me Remus, what's bothering you so much? Please!" she said looking up at him.

Remus rubbed his eyes with his palms, "Fine!" he muttered. "Dumbledore has assigned me a mission to go undercover with the other werewolves. He wants me to see how the situation is there and if I can try to convince some of them to join our side." He finished tiredly.

Lily just gaped at him. "But Remus, that's too dangerous!" she said.

"I know Lily, trust me I know." He gave a mirthless chuckle.

"Oh Remus! Why didn't you tell us about it?" Lily asked.

"I was afraid that you might stop me from going there and I would listen to you. I don't want to be with them after so long of trying to prove to myself that I can be a normal wizard. But this is important. And I am the only one right now who could do it." he said.

Lily didn't know what to say. "When do you have to go back?" she asked.

"In a couple of days." he said.

"Stay with us tonight, Remus. It would make us so happy. Please." Lily said.

Remus thought for a moment and then nodded his head in the affirmative. "Okay then." he said.

Lily smiled and they both left the kitchen.

Four hours later, Remus was lying on his bed and thinking about all the events that had happened that evening. How carefree James looked, how happy Lily was, how much all of them had enjoyed being together and just chatting and playing silly games. He was so deep in thought that he didn't even see the ball of light forming just over his head, which was increasing in size every second.

Suddenly, he heard a girl's scream from above and looked up just in time to see a body being thrown out of a portal. He rolled away from the bed, as it fell on the bed, and stared at the person now lying there. It was a girl, roughly of his age, who was staring back at him right now. As soon as she opened her mouth, Remus took his wand from the bedside table and stunned her.

 **Dum-dum-dum...**

 **What do you think is gonna happen?**


	3. Chapter 3

**Glad to see you here!**

 **From now on, the updates will be once a week, every Monday.**

 **Beta'd by: CallMeBunny.**

 **Disclaimer: Blah blah blah...do not own Harry Potter...blah blah blah...just playing with J. K. Rowling's characters...blah blah blah**

Outside Potter Cottage, Godric's Hollow.

Sirius Black was tired. After the day he had completing his Order assignment, he just wanted a bed to lie down on. But before that, there was one thing he had to take care of. To make sure that James was still sane and hadn't turned Lily crazy as well! He was glad that he wasn't the one who had to hide out in his own house for who knows how long!

While he knocked on the door and waited for someone to open the door, he thought about his other two friends. About the things Peter had said about Remus. All though at first, he had even refused to listen, but now he couldn't help noticing the fact that Peter had been correct. Remus was indeed growing distant. Not only physically, but even emotionally. He was worried. Worried for Remus but more than that for James and his family, his little godson. He was going to take care of his godson no matter what, even if it meant that he had to go against one of his mates.

Just then, Lily opened the door and he hugged her in greeting, happy that another day had passed without anything happening to them. He may not show it on the outside, but his paranoia about his friend and his family's safety was rivaling Moody's these days.

"Sirius! I'm so glad that you are here. James and Remus would be really happy, now that you're here as well. I only wish Peter could have stayed for the night." She said and smiled.

Sirius stopped in his tracks for a moment. Although the major part of his mind and heart didn't believe that Remus was anything but innocent, there was a part of him that had already started seeing Remus as a threat. When Lily turned back to see what was wrong, he just forced a smile and followed her in.

As soon as he entered the living room, he knew something was wrong. James and Remus were tensed and their eyes had a crazed look. James had Harry in his arms and came up and took Lily in his arms before leading her towards the sofa. Remus was pacing around the room with his wand clutched tightly in one of his hands and his other running through his hair in what he knew to be a nervous habit.

"What's the matter?" Lily asked.

"Yeah, you look as if McGonagall found out about all our pranks and she is going to hand out detentions in the next Order meeting." Sirius said trying to insert some humor into the situation.

"Has everything got to be a joke for you? Can you ever be serious about any situation?" Remus shouted at him.

Sirius, who was already dead tired, had little patience to deal with his thoughts. "Oh, I forgot, prefect Moony is here, no more jokes folks."

Before Remus could lash out on his friend, Lily interrupted them with a shout, "Will someone tell me what is going on here?"

Remus looked at James and took a deep breath, "Lily, someone found a way through the magic of the Fidelius Charm," he said.

Both Lily and Sirius looked at Remus with questioning eyes. "What?" asked Lily.

"Lils, someone found a way to enter our house without our allowing them to do so." James said.

"But, that's not possible! How? And who told you? I'm pretty sure they were joking whoever they were!" Lily became hysterical.

"Lily, someone is in my room right now as we speak! Someone who I've never seen before who just fell from a ball of light above my head!" Remus' raised voice cut off Lily's hysterical cries effectively.

Sirius, who had been astonishingly quiet during all this time, spoke up suddenly, "In your room, you say Moony. Wonder how that happened!" his light, joking voice was a contrast to his face which had lost all its colour during the conversation, and his grey eyes, which had turned dark and were looking at Remus with clear accusation in them.

"What do you mean Padfoot? Say it clearly." Remus said in a strained, controlled voice. He knew something was wrong with Sirius.

"Remus, stop the acting, will you? You know perfectly well what I'm talking about! A person broke the Fidelius Charm? A charm which even Dumbledore said was one of the strongest! And that too, on the day when you were here! In the room you were sleeping, no less? Do you mean to tell me that all of this is a coincidence?" Sirius laughed with no mirth.

Before Remus could even think of what to answer, Lily got up from the sofa and slapped Sirius, hard. "Sirius Black, apologize! Right now!"

"But Lily, you have to listen to me," he started.

"No Sirius, you listen to me! I know why you are acting like this, why you feel that Remus is going to betray us. But have you ever tried to think why Remus is acting this way? Why is he distancing himself from us? You were brothers, for Merlin's sake! Think, you fathead!"

Even after being hurt by one of his best mates, Remus couldn't help a small smile appearing on his face at Lily's outburst. But as soon as he saw Lily glaring at him, he thought it would have been better to play the sad, hurt friend.

"And you! What are you smiling at? What did I tell you about confiding in your friends? But no! You have to be the stoic, strong, secretive and STUPID friend who wants to protect everybody!" Remus was almost terrified of Lily's anger.

"You three! Just grow up, will you? I'm tired of being the peacemaker for you lot!" Lily said exasperatedly.

"What did she mean, Remus?" James asked.

Remus finally told them about his mission. James and Sirius were thunderstruck and the guilt they felt was overwhelming.

"Moony, I'm sorry mate. I should have tried talking to you before jumping to conclusions. Can you forgive me?" Sirius asked.

"Me too." added James.

Remus felt as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. No more secrets. He smiled and said, "It's fine. And I'm sorry as well, for keeping you people in the dark."

Lily smiled when she finally saw the three friends embracing each other. But her smile froze when she remembered the situation in the other room.

"James, the intruder…." she started.

"Lils, it's ok. Remus stunned and bound her and we did all the spells to ensure that the room is sealed." James reassured her.

"But what do we do with her? And how did she enter this place? And who the hell is she?" Sirius asked.

"We don't know, Padfoot. And the strangest part is she doesn't even have a wand on her!" Remus answered.

"Let's wait for her to wake up, and we'll see what to do then." James said.

"Hmm, fine. But James, Lily, you are not going anywhere near her," Sirius started.

"Don't be stupid. I can take care of myself thank you very much. She doesn't even have a wand!" Lily said.

"No Lily, Padfoot is right. Do you realize how grave the situation is? Someone broke into a house protected with a Fidelius Charm! I've never even heard of such a thing ever happening." Remus said.

"Shouldn't we move them from here?" Sirius asked Remus.

"No, we warded the house against everything we could think of. There's nowhere safer than here right now." James said.

Sirius nodded.

"Get some sleep. I'll guard our 'guest' for now." Remus said.

He wished them good night and got up to go to his room. He unwarded the door and entered his room cautiously. He saw the girl lying bound and unconsciousness.

He couldn't help noticing that the girl was quiet young, younger than him in fact. That's what surprised him the most. 'Would the world's most evil wizard send such a young girl to kill the Potters?' He thought to himself. She didn't even look athletic. Thin and small, with a round face and long, straight hair the colour of midnight, dressed in pajamas, she looked far from dangerous. Combine the fact that she had no wand on her, he almost laughed at the idea of her harming anyone else. But the circumstances were no laughing matter and looks could be deceiving. So he decided to be on guard and not to be taken in by the girl's harmless appearance.

 **So how was it?**

 **Good? Bad?**

 **Suggestions? Improvements? Praises? Curses?**

 **Please let me know!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer** : **Only the plot is mine. Everything else recognizable belongs to J. K. Rowling.**

 **Beta'd by: The lovely CallMeBunny**

 **Thank you to all those who followed and favourited the story. You people made my day! :D**

 **Here you go...**

'Uh! My head!' Aamaya thought as soon as consciousness came back.

She wanted to bring her hands up to rub her head, and it was then that she realized that her hands were bound behind her back. When she tried to move around she realized that not only her hands but her legs were also probably bound and she was lying on her side.

'Uh-oh! This is bad; so, SO BAD!' she thought.

"Glad to see you are awake!" She almost jumped out of her skin at hearing a man's voice.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"Shouldn't I be the one asking you? Who are you? And where am I? And why the hell am I here?" she asked.

"Huh! Where are you? WHERE ARE YOU? You don't know where you are?"

His voice, becoming angrier per second let her know that the situation was not getting any better. She decided to keep quiet for a bit and try to understand where he was. Not an easy task when you can't move your hands and legs and have no idea how you got there. It was then, that she realized that she hadn't registered another problem yet. Her vision! She couldn't see anything at all! Even though there was nothing covering her eyes.

Before she could stop herself, she blurted out, "Why can't I see anything?"

Her breathing became labored as the silence stretched on.

"You seriously think that you can fool me by acting like an idiot, don't you?" the voice asked her. "It's of no use, better if you come clean. Give us all the information you have and we'll try to help you."

Just then, she heard a sound, probably a door opening and turned her head towards that sound.

'Nope, still can't see a thing.' She thought. Her nervousness and anxiety was reaching new levels and thus she was concentrating more on her internal monologue rather than the hopelessness of her situation.

The sound of door closing snapped her out of her thoughts.

"I'll get straight to the point," it was another male voice, "If you think that you can escape then you are wrong. So it'll be better for you if you helped us and turned to our side. Tell us all you know about His plans and we'll try to do what we can for you."

Now she was getting irritated. "You think this is funny, don't you? Kidnapping a girl, drugging her and bringing her to God knows where, tying her up, stripping her up off her vision and then asking her questions which make no sense at all!" she shouted.

For two minutes, no one said anything. Aamaya thought maybe finally, these people, whoever they were, would let her go.

"Looks like we aren't getting anything from her, let's go." came the voice of the first man.

She heard footsteps and then she heard the door opening. "Wait! What do you mean by 'let's go'? Come back here and untie me right now!" she started shouting, but to no avail. The door closed, meaning they had probably left.

 **To be continued...**


	5. Chapter 5

**An extra chapter, as I'll be going on a trip for a few days and my next update might be a day or two late..**

 **Hope this will make you happy...**

 **Beta'd by: CallMeBunny**

"Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock." She kept on saying while tilting her head from side to side. She had been left alone in the room for an entire day now. Except for the meals that came twice, there had been no human contact. After the initial phase of shock wore off, impatience was the main thing that she felt.

"Who knew imprisonment could be so boring!" she said dryly.

Finally, after what felt like ages, the door opened again. Someone came in and stood to her right, "Talking to yourself? Sure sign of madness. Why don't you help us out so that we, in turn, can help you." said the voice of the second man out of the two, who had questioned her.

"Oh, kind sir! As much as I appreciate your kindness, but I'm afraid my MADNESS can't be cured by anyone. You, on the other hand, should talk to someone about YOUR madness. You know like capturing innocent people and keeping them tied up and then asking stupid questions which make no sense WHAT SO EVER!"

To say that Remus was exasperated by this girl would be an understatement and said as much. "You do realize that your being exasperating won't be of any use to you, right?"

She laughed dryly and said, "Huh! That's strange. Generally it takes people a few more days to call me exasperating. When they first meet me, they generally find me a very sweet, decent little girl."

Remus couldn't understand what to make of her. In the few years that he had been in the Order, he had encountered only two types of Voldemort's followers; the ones who proclaimed freely that they supported his cause and the others who said they were being forced by him. But never had he met someone like her, using sarcastic remarks and acting as if she were the master of the situation instead of being the captive.

He pinched the bridge of his nose and thought 'If only Lily would finish brewing the Veritaserum!' He desperately wanted Dumbledore to be back.

"Fallen asleep? I guess guard duty is as boring as being a captive. But at least you can see what's going on. Can't even do that!" came the bitter remark.

Something snapped in him. The stress of ensuring that the Potter's were safe and that Sirius wouldn't do anything drastic, the fact that the full moon was in 3 days, and on top of that the dry, sarcastic remarks were getting on his nerves. He said in a low voice, "You think this is funny, don't you? That you'll act all innocent and all and we would let you go, just like that."

Something about the low tone alerted her. She was used to their shouting at her, threatening her. She could deal with that. But this, this low, grave voice, she couldn't deal with.

Remus could finally smell the fear rolling out of her in waves. He gave a dry smile and said, "Finally an appropriate reaction! I was worried that my stunner muddled with your brain so badly that it messed up your emotions. So now I hope you'll cooperate."

"What do you want?" she asked.

"How did you get in? What were your plans? Who are you working for?" he asked.

She suddenly got the point. Apparently these people were as clueless about her as she had been about them. Although, how that was possible she couldn't understand.

"I don't know. Till now I thought you were the reason I was here, you brought me here. Because I've no idea how the hell I came here! I don't even know where 'HERE' is!" she said in a tired voice.

"I just want to go back home," she added in a small, broken voice.

Remus didn't know what to do. On one hand, he couldn't help trust her words. On the other hand, her explanation made no sense at all. If they didn't bring her and she didn't come on her own, then what was she doing there.

He sighed and left the room.

Remus went to the living room to find Lily and James, and discuss the matter with them. He saw James sitting on the sofa playing with Harry. He went and sat down beside them.

"Did you find out anything Moony?" James asked him.

Remus ran a nervous hand through his hair and told him everything that happened. By the look on his face, James was contemplating the best course of action.

Lily came out of the kitchen and said, "Remus, why don't you stay with us for a few days?"

Remus heard the unspoken request. He knew that Lily was tensed and afraid for her family's safety. He knew that his presence would mean extra security for them. So he just smiled and nodded his head in the affirmative.

"I wish we could just buy Veritaserum in the market without raising suspicion. Would have made the job easier." Remus said rubbing a hand through his face.

"It will be ready by tomorrow. I wish I hadn't messed up the first batch in my hurry." Lily said with downcast eyes.

"Oh Lils, come here." James said bringing Lily down to sit beside him. He hugged her tightly and said, "Don't worry sweetheart, we know that you were worried, we all are. It's not like you to mess up your potions. You were Slughorn's star pupil after all!" he said with a laugh.

Lily nudged him with her elbow, smiled and leaned her head on his shoulder, wrapping her arms around him. His hold on her tightened, he placed his cheek on her head, and closed his eyes.

Remus smiled. Although the pang of loneliness flared within him, he was happy for his friends. To get even a few moments of peace during this war was a gift and he was glad that his friends were enjoying that gift. As for his loneliness, he had long ago convinced himself that his chances at a happy love story were quite slim. 'At least I have our 'Guest'!' He thought wryly to himself.


	6. Chapter 6

**Well, I'm back!**

 **Right on time! :D**

 **Disclaimer: If you recognise it, then I don't own it. Simple!**

 **Beta'd by: CallMeBunny**

I had been sleeping soundly, well as soundly as one can sleep with their hands & legs tied up, when suddenly I felt a very bitter tasting liquid on my tongue. I opened my eyes but as usual, couldn't see anything. The one thing different was the slight dizziness I was feeling.

"What's your name?" asked one of the two voices, I had come to recognize.

"Aamaya." I ended up saying, even though I didn't want to.

"How did you get in?" asked the same voice.

"I don't know!" I ended up saying, again! Okay, this is scary. It's as if someone is forcing me from inside to answer the questions!

"Did you plan to harm the Potters in any way?" he asked.

"No." was my answer again. 'Potters'? Why does that ring a bell?

"Are you working for Voldemort?" he asked.

"No." My response was automatic. It was good that the responses were coming out without my having to think consciously. Otherwise, the state my mind was in, I wouldn't have been able to produce a single sound by myself.

VOLDEMORT!

POTTERS!

ARE THEY SERIOUS? Or should I say Sirius?

They are talking about things which are not supposed to be real, as if it were real!  
They actually believe themselves to belong to the Harry Potter World! COMPLETELY, BARKING MAD!

But all of these thoughts were pushed to the back of my mind when suddenly I felt my vision clearing. I could see! As if by magic! MAGIC!

I looked down upon myself to see what condition I was in. Still wearing my 3 day old pajamas, I felt my hands & legs being unbound. But there was no one behind me to do that!

I looked in front and saw the 2 people who had been questioning me for the past 3 days. Both of them were tall, fair men, quite young, only a few years older than me. One of them with dark hair while the other with dark blond hair. One odd thing, the long sticks in both their hands. 'Wands', my brain supplied to me. Wizards indeed! Huh!

"I think we should inform them that everything's fine," said the fair haired man to the other one. When the other one nodded, he opened the door to go out, but there was already somebody standing there. A girl, of probably the same age as these two. But what caught my attention was her flaming red hair and her eyes.

Emerald green eyes to be precise.

Lily Evans Potter.

What tiny shred of hope that I had about all of this being a big joke was lost. This couldn't be happening! They weren't even supposed to be real! Wizards weren't supposed to be real! I spent the better part of my last year convincing myself that this couldn't be real!

Apparently it could be!

The room started to spin and I felt my vision getting blurred. 'Life has a weird sense of humour!' was my last thought before everything went black.

 **Sorry for the short chapter...**

 **I'll see if I can update another one this week.**

 **A bit of convincing might be helpful... :D :P**


	7. Chapter 7

**I'm so sorry people for not updating the extra chapter earlier! Exams, exams, exams...**

 **Here's your update!**

 **And don't worry you'll have your Monday update as well!**

 **Thanks to all who favourited, followed and reviewed! Your support and suggestions help a lot!**

 **Beta'd by: CallMeBunny!**

Harry was zooming on his toy broomstick around the room with James and Sirius running around the room trying to catch him. Remus was watching their antics with an amused expression on his face. Lily's expression was probably a mixture of anger, amusement, and horror at the thought of her baby zooming around on a broomstick.

She decided to check on the girl, Aamaya, instead. The poor girl fell unconscious and woke up with a splitting headache. Right now she was lying on the bed in Remus' room.

'How circumstances change within a few days!' she thought to herself. Only a day ago they thought her an enemy, but now... now, she wasn't a friend yet, but at least no more an enemy. They could finally relax a bit.

She entered the room to find Aamaya asleep. Seeing everything was fine, Lily left the room, closing the door behind her.

Aamaya's POV

As soon as the door closed, I relaxed and turned over to face it.

Veritaserum.

I was pretty sure that they had administered me Veritaserum before questioning. No wonder I had no control over my answers. Thank God they didn't ask something which could have made me reveal something about their future. As I had no idea for how long the effects of Veritaserum lasted, I decided to act asleep to avoid their questions. Surprisingly, it worked, as none of them were too keen on coming too close to me.

'But what to do now?' I thought. What were you supposed to do when you were suddenly transported to a world which till three days ago was purely fictional for you? What were you supposed to do when you knew that two of the main characters of that world were going to die within a couple of months?

76 days to be exact!

If the calendar on the wall was correct!

15th August, 1981.

So basically, not only was I inside a supposedly fictional world, but I had also somehow managed to time travel backwards by some 34 years!

Wow!

Talk about your dreams coming true!

More like nightmares!

'No use worrying about this. Better to think about what to do now.' I thought. 'Well, telling them all I know is probably a bad idea. They will either think I'm mad, or I was sent by Voldemort to create a rift between them, or may be both! Nope! Can't go that way.'

Was I even supposed to meddle with this? This world which was not mine; in which I was completely helpless and dependent on others, who was I to change its course? To interfere with one of the most important events of the 20th Century wizarding world!

But then I realized. I was already meddling with time. I wasn't supposed to be there! My mere existence there would have changed something or the other. An unknown factor!

So, I decided. If already things are changing, why not change them a bit more?

But caution was required. I was no 111 year old, lemon drop eating genius whose vast knowledge of magic was a force in of itself. Neither was I some expert on time travel and space jumps.

Uh! Who was I kidding?

I required help.

"What should we do about her?" Sirius asked. After the initial relief that they were safe, for the moment at least, the same question began to burn in everyone's mind, 'What to do now?'

"She stays here until she gets better." Lily said.

"And after that?" asked James. "What do we do after that? She knows our location. Can we just let her go back to wherever she is from with this knowledge?"

Nobody could answer that.

It was then that they saw the object of their worries come out of the room. She came up to them with unsure steps, assessing everyone's reaction to her approach. Lily smiled and beckoned her to an empty chair. She smiled a bit in return and sat sown.

Since it looked like nobody had any idea what to say, Lily said, "Well, we haven't been officially introduced. I'm Lily Potter. This is my husband James Potter. And that's Remus Lupin and Sirius Black."

"Hello. I'm Aamaya Mathur." she said.

"So, where are you from?" Lily asked.

Aamaya had already decided to act as if she couldn't remember much. It was better than explaining that she was from the future, from a world where these people weren't even supposed to be existing! Thus she said, "I don't know. Can't remember anything."

"What?" James asked.

"Why?" Sirius asked.

"Nothing?" Remus asked at the same time as the other two.

Aamaya just shook her head worriedly. Without her knowing, the tears started to fall down her eyes. Even though she knew where she was from, she had no idea how to go back. It was as good as not knowing anything.

"Oh, you poor dear. Don't be upset." Lily hugged her and tried to sooth the crying girl.

Aamaya sniffed and tried to control her tears. 'Crying won't help' she thought to herself.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cry. It's just that I've no idea what to do!" she said.

"We understand. And we'll try everything we can to help you. You can trust us." Remus said and his friends nodded their heads.

Aamaya gave a small smile and said, "Thank you." 'Sweet as always.' She thought with a smile.

"And until you get back your memory, you can stay with us." Lily said.

Aamaya smiled again. This was something she was really worried about, seeing that she didn't know anybody there. It was good to know that she had a place to live while in that world.

"But I don't understand one thing, how come you don't have your wand?" Sirius asked.

Aamaya acted confused. "Wand?" she asked.

"You are a witch, right?" James asked.

'I wish.' She thought to herself. "No." she said.

The three marauders and Lily were stunned. 'A muggle? She was a muggle?' The same thought was running in all four's minds.

"I think we need to explain…." Lily started.

"Are you sure?" James cut in.

"We can't hide everything from her!" she answered.

"Explain what?" Aamaya asked although she knew pretty well what they were talking about.

"It's going to be a long story!" Sirius said and leaned back on the sofa getting comfortable.

Remus rolled his eyes and turned to Lily, who nodded and started, "Well, you see, magic is real…."

And thus began Lily's narrative of the wizarding world.

 **What do you think? How was it?**


	8. Chapter 8

**Updating at 6 am in the morning instead of working on my submission which is TODAY!**

 **Lets hope that I finish it on time and submit!**

 **Beta'd by: CallMeBunny**

16th August, 1981

75 days to go.

Aamaya's POV

Dumbledore! Only Dumbledore could help her now! But how could she contact him! She wasn't even supposed to know him! Agreed that now she knew about him since Lily had told her about him as well as many other famous wizards and witches.

If there was anyone in the world who could help her, it would be him. But would he? Would he want to interfere with the time line? Wouldn't he rather that the old time line be followed? A time line in which Voldemort's demise was confirmed. For the greater good!

That was the most difficult part. Because she herself had doubts. Why was she suddenly so interested in the lives of these strangers? Strangers about whom she knew more than she knew about some of her friends no doubt, but strangers nonetheless. Wasn't it stupidity, to think that changing the future was even possible? And even if it was, wouldn't it lead to disastrous consequences?

But something had changed surely? Otherwise, she wouldn't be sitting here thinking about these things now, would she?

She desperately hoped so.

18th August, 1981

73 days to go

Aamaya needn't have worried about contacting Dumbledore as he came to Godric's Hollow two days later. Sirius had already contacted him when she had suddenly appeared inside the cottage.

But now that he was finally here, Aamaya was nervous. Would he agree to her idea of saving the Potters? Pushing all the 'What ifs' to the back of her mind, she went to the living room where everyone was present.

She could hear Remus outside telling him all about what had happened in the last 4-5 days.

As she entered, everyone looked up at her; Remus smiled at her and continued on. But Dumbledore, clad in midnight blue robes, was looking at her fixedly, trying to figure out if she really was a friend or foe. After a few moments, he seemed satisfied and turned his attention back to Remus.

As soon as they finished, Aamaya asked Dumbledore, "Do you have any idea how I came here? And why?"

He became thoughtful and said after a few moments, "I might have a few ideas, some more impossible than others."

She sighed, "Can I ever go back?" she asked in a small voice.

"I'm sorry but right now, I've no idea about that. This is a very strange situation. I've never even heard of such a thing ever happening." he said, "but I'll try my best to find out a way." he added.

She looked down. 'Looks like I'm indeed stuck here.' She thought to herself.

Lily's heart melted for the dejected girl and she came up and hugged her tightly. "I know we are no replacements for your old family and friends, but you can count on us for anything and everything. You are our friend now." She smiled up at her.

"And don't worry, we aren't such a bad lot. Agreed, Prongs here is a complete duffer while Moony here is a right old worried woman most of the times." Sirius started with a huge grin.

"Excuse me!" Remus spluttered.

"Oi! Duffer? I'll show you who's a duffer!" James started.

"But don't worry my lady, I'll be your knight in shining armor and save you from these idiots," Sirius added with a theatrical bow.

Aamaya couldn't help but laugh at their antics. Seeing her happy, both Remus and James' anger melted away.

"Don't worry, you get used to them," Lily whispered to her with a smile.

Dumbledore, who had been watching the scene with an amused smile on his face, spoke up, "I think Miss Mathur should be checked upon once by Madam Pomfrey to ensure that she is perfectly alright. And I must add the need of absolute secrecy in regard to her." Everyone nodded their heads in understanding.

He got up and said his goodbyes to all of them and stretched a hand out for Aamaya. She took it and they went out of the cottage to disapparate to Hogwarts.

Side along apparition was definitely a very unpleasant experience, Aamaya thought to herself. It felt as if her entire body was being squeezed through a very narrow tunnel. Thankfully, it was over soon.

As soon as she steadied herself, she looked around the headmaster's office and her jaw fell to the floor. No amount of reading could have prepared her for this! The room was a large, circular one, with life size portraits of the previous headmasters and headmistresses adorning the walls. The room was full of odd looking instruments which produced tinkering sounds continuously. And there, beside the ornate desk, was a magnificent bird on a perch, looking at her curiously. 'Must be Fawkes.' She thought to herself.

Dumbledore went to the floo in his office and contacted Madam Pomfrey to ensure that the Hospital wing was empty. Once sure that everything was fine, he cast a disillusionment charm on Aamaya and asked her to follow him.

Aamaya was awestruck. 'A castle! I'm inside a real, proper, functioning castle!' she thought to herself. The thankfully empty corridors, as classes were still going on, were lit up by torch lights hung on walls. They were decorated by paintings with moving figures. Suits of armor stood in the niches and if she paid attention, she could see slight movement in them as well. It was all so surreal; Hogwarts was even more enchanting than she thought it would be and not for the first time, she wished that she was a witch.

Entering the Hospital wing, she saw a huge room full of beds. Coming towards them was a woman who could only be Madam Pomfrey. Dumbledore explained to her the circumstances and asked her for a complete checkup. Aamaya was led to the farthest bed from the door and asked to lay down. Madam Pomfrey shut the curtains around her. She then waved her wand above her in different intricate patterns. A roll of parchment suddenly appeared in her hand and she started reading it thoroughly. Then she looked up at her, almost confused, and said, "You are fine dear, just maybe a bit tired. Nothing serious."

'Teleportation, yet no physical signs of it? It's as if someone took special care that she wasn't hurt during the process!' Madam Pomfrey thought.

Aamaya got up, thanked her and walked to where Dumbledore was sitting. Before disillusioning her back he asked, "I understand that you had something to tell me?"

Aamaya looked up at him surprised and nodded her head.

"To my office then," he said and after he disillusioned her, they left the room.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: If you recognize it, then it's not mine.**

 **Beta'd by: CallMeBunny**

 **Thanks again to all those who followed and favourited it! :D**

"Have a seat, Miss Mathur," Dumbledore said.

"Call me Aamaya, please, professor," she replied.

He nodded and said, "So, what is it then?"

Aamaya took a deep breath and started, "I haven't lost my memory. I remember everything about where I'm from. The only thing I've no idea about is how and why I got here!" She waited to see his reaction to this.

His face was impassive, it gave nothing away.

"I assume there is a reason you lied to your new friends?" he asked.

She nodded.

"I'm from the future," she blurted out.

Finally, his face showed some surprise.

"From a world, where all of you are supposed to be fictional characters!" she blurted out again. "A world in which you people are part of a book series, a fictional book series, and magic is just a part of our imagination!" It felt good, not to hide things any more.

"Book series, you say? Well, I would like to know more about these books," he said.

She gave a wry chuckle and started with her narration.

"Hmm, a very interesting story, I must say," he said.

"Very!" she replied sarcastically.

"You certainly have a point there, we could not only save the Potters, but many others due to this knowledge. But wouldn't it be more prudent to leave things as it is, seeing that it would ultimately lead to Voldemort's demise?" he asked.

"And where do I fit in all of this?" she asked. "I agree that changing things would be highly dangerous. But what if the process has already started? Why would I be here otherwise?" she asked.

He looked at her with raised eyebrows.

"What? Call me optimistic but I've always believed everything happens for a reason. And it has turned out to be like that for me in most cases!" she said.

He was thinking about her words while she continued, "We won't be changing much. One thing has already changed. We know when Voldemort is going to attack the Potters. The only thing that we've to take care of is that his horcruxes are destroyed before he attacks them."

"The horcruxes being.." Dumbledore started.

"Riddle's diary, Slytherin's locket, Hufflepuff's cup, Raveclaw's diadem, Gaunt's ring, Voldemort's snake-Nagini and Harry himself. Out of which we don't need to worry about the snake and Harry as those two haven't been turned into horcruxes yet. So basically we've only five;

"Riddle's diary, probably with Lucius Malfoy; Slytherin's locket in Grimmauld Place with Kreacher; Hufflepuff's cup at Gringotts in Lestranges' vault; Ravenclaw's diadem here at Hogwarts in the Room of Requirement; and Gaunt's ring in Gaunt's shack," she finished.

"If we go with this, we have to ensure that nothing is altered at all and everything happens as it should have," he said.

"That's why I didn't tell them anything. Because for this to work, Voldemort has to attack the Potters on Halloween, and for that to happen, Pettigrew has to be the secret keeper. We've to make sure that he doesn't get suspicious. And once they find out about Pettigrew's betrayal, it'll be very difficult for them to act normal in front of him. So I thought it would be better that they didn't know anything at all."

"I see you've all of it planned out," Dumbledore said with the trademark twinkle in his eyes.

"Well, I had lots of time to think about it," Aamaya replied.

"Good, now you can help me in finding out these objects and destroying them," he said.

"Me?" she stammered, "B-but I can't, I'm just a muggle!"

"If you were a muggle then you wouldn't have been able to see Fawkes, besides the fact that a dozen instruments in this room would have started screeching due to the presence of a muggle. You are as much a witch as I am the headmaster of Hogwarts," he said.

Aamaya's jaw hit the floor. "B-but, I-I can't be a witch! All these years, I would've known, I would've felt something, right?" she finished lamely.

"And did you never feel anything was odd, different about you? Never experienced any forms of wish fulfillment? 'Everything happens for a reason'? You said you have had some experiences with that. What if the reason was your magic?"

"Not all forms of accidental magic are noticeable at first. Though I've to say that your magic appears to be more subdued than what is normal. But it is there."

Aamaya was dumbstruck. Was it really possible? She, a witch?

Suddenly, things began to make sense. All those incidents, small in themselves but when combined made her a bit uneasy. She always felt something was off with her. And at other times, when out of nowhere her wishes used to come true. She always thought she was simply lucky. Was it really possible, that she was a witch after all?

Dumbledore smiled kindly at the surprised girl sitting in front of him and said," You need a wand, my dear."

Her eyes became huge. "A wand? M-my wand? My own wand?"

"I'll let Remus or Sirius know so that they can take you to Ollivanders. I would have taken you myself, but I think you would be more inconspicuous if you went with either of them," he said and got up holding a hand out for her. She took it and they apparated back to Godric's Hollow.

Aamaya was still in a daze when they entered the cottage. Dumbledore explained to Lily that due to her memory loss, Aamaya had forgotten all about her magical abilities and thus needed to learn them again. Lily happily agreed to help her relearn and promised to send her with either Remus or Sirius to Ollivanders for a new wand.

She closed the door and turned around to find Aamaya still in a daze. When she went and sat down near her, Aamaya looked up to her and exclaimed, "I'm a witch!"

Lily smiled and shook her head fondly. This was the same reaction that she had when she had got her Hogwarts' letter 9 years ago.

 **A/N: OK people, from next week, I might not be able to follow my weekly update schedule for some weeks. I'll try my best though.**

 **Let me know your thoughts.**


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